First ever ski trip - 2018

TheUnderfaker · 13-02-2017 3:21pm #1

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking of going on a ski trip in early 2018 and had a few questions as I'm struggling with googling everything. If ya'll can help I'd be very appreciative

1) When would ye normally book a ski trip? Would now be a good time to book or would it normally be later in the year?

2) Would you go with an agent or book each aspect separately (flights, accommodation, transfers, ski stuff etc). If agent, who would you recommend?

3) I'm sure there's a thousand things to look out for - Any further advice is very welcome! Destinations etc

Thanks!

cormee · 13-02-2017 3:34pm

Hi,

When I go I always book everything separately, I've never been on a package trip. I book around November.

I think Morzine is a great spot for beginners, there is one really long gentle slope that goes back to the town that's ideal for beginners (normally if you're a beginner you'll be on a quite short slope), Morzine is a great town, and it's only an hour and a half away from Geneva airport.

Any other questions, just ask

TheUnderfaker · 13-02-2017 3:45pm

Yeah we're hoping for that perfect blend of value for money, ease of access and a bit of atmosphere for the apres-ski. Looks like Morzine ticks all the boxes!

Will definitely have a good look a that. Cheers

Davd · 13-02-2017 4:01pm

Have done the booking everything separately before and works out well, especially with larger groups. Although usually I just to the package option for convenience and usually competitively priced. But if there's only 2 of you going, you could get a late package deal and book 1-4 weeks before you travel - flights, transfers and accommodation (B&B) from 350 euro per person sharing. I usually go to Austria as the price of accommodation usually includes breakfast leaving you to make the decision on dinner.
Also, depending on the time of season, you need to look at low and high altitude resorts to ensure there is enough snow. Nothing worse than arriving at a low altitude resort at end of season to find theres very little or no snow. Best snow tends to be around mid Jan to mid Feb but weather is not always predictable.
Finally, not too late to go this year :pac:

olaola · 13-02-2017 4:13pm

For a first ski trip, I could see the advantages of booking with an operator. However, we usually do DIY, but couldn't get the hotel we wanted and went with one this year. Bit of a pain in the arse, price about the same. But the hassle for us going with the operator wasn't worth it. Never again!

cormee · 13-02-2017 4:22pm

TheUnderfaker wrote: »

Yeah we're hoping for that perfect blend of value for money, ease of access and a bit of atmosphere for the apres-ski. Looks like Morzine ticks all the boxes!

Will definitely have a good look a that. Cheers

Morzine wouldn't have a crazy apres-ski scene, I have to say. It depends on what level of madness you're looking for. The bars are busy until about 7, then clear out, some get busy again later in the evening, but not all. If partying is high on your list of priorities you should probably look elsewhere

TheUnderfaker · 13-02-2017 4:29pm

Partying ain't that high on my priorities list, but another couple are interested in going and it would be far higher on theirs! So I'm willing to settle on good, not great when it comes to the apres-ski scene! Perfectly happy to sit in a pub with an oversized novelty beer

stecleary · 13-02-2017 8:00pm

TheUnderfaker wrote: »

Partying ain't that high on my priorities list, but another couple are interested in going and it would be far higher on theirs!

Be careful here, I go on a skiing holiday to go skiing, A few beers in the afternoon, dinner, one or two more and bed be 11 kinda thing. We went one year with an other couple and they didn't take to skiing too well so the party was of more interest to them, they ended up roping my wife into a session on the wed and for the first time in 5 years she missed a days skiing:rolleyes:
She wasn't too impressed and it put a downer on the week for her, If people want a drinking holiday the Canaries are half the price and drink is much cheaper too

hawkwind23 · 13-02-2017 8:42pm

My advice is to go package for the first time.
You rock up to the airport and everything is sorted out for you from that moment on and thats going to help getting skis , passes and lessons etc.
At a guess a full package would be around €700/800 per person and include meals , another advantage is paying it off through the year

TheUnderfaker · 14-02-2017 11:05am

stecleary wrote: »

Be careful here, I go on a skiing holiday to go skiing, A few beers in the afternoon, dinner, one or two more and bed be 11 kinda thing. We went one year with an other couple and they didn't take to skiing too well so the party was of more interest to them, they ended up roping my wife into a session on the wed and for the first time in 5 years she missed a days skiing:rolleyes:
She wasn't too impressed and it put a downer on the week for her, If people want a drinking holiday the Canaries are half the price and drink is much cheaper too

Yup I think you're right here. I'd imagine some might have visions of skiing all day and partying all night, but in reality I'm going on a skiing holiday to go skiing! Cheers for that

hawkwind23 wrote: »

My advice is to go package for the first time.
You rock up to the airport and everything is sorted out for you from that moment on and thats going to help getting skis , passes and lessons etc.
At a guess a full package would be around €700/800 per person and include meals , another advantage is paying it off through the year

Would the packages for 2018 start coming out much closer to the end of 2017? I've been looking online and can find some decent stuff, but a lot less than I expected! Are there any operators in particular that have a good reputation or that you'd recommend from experience?

d2ww · 14-02-2017 12:37pm

Out of Ireland, you really only have crystalski.ie and topflight(directski.com is part of topflight)
I would agree with hawkwind about getting a package, it's a steep enough learning curve without adding all that extra hassle at first time out.
Austria would tend to have roomier rooms, and Italy much cheaper options for lunch than France.

hawkwind23 · 14-02-2017 7:29pm

If money is an issue then the likes of Bulgaria is grand for beginners

https://www.travel-solutions.co.uk/show-category/?id=123&cat=Special%20Learn%20To%20Ski%20Weeks

They do these prices every year out of peak time.

Another departing from Belfast is https://www.wearevertigo.com/ski/holidays/ , just seem to whack a few hundred on the prices from above for Bulgaria and Topflight for Italy but they are great craic.

Also TodayFM and Coppers do packages so worth just checking out groups/clubs etc like http://www.skiclub.ie/members/holidays

I like travelling in groups like this , you can just do your own thing and use the convenience and stick to your own wee group/family but i enjoy meeting people and having the chat in the bar on an evening.

Basically i wouldnt be put off thinking your having to be doing what the group does , you can just do your own thing, i was a bit wary till i went on my first one but loved it!

EDIT: if not worrying about money then anywhere in the Alps for the views!

AMKC · 14-02-2017 7:43pm

Salzberg Austria is a lovely ski resort and perfect for beginners too. The people in Austria are very friendly too. You can get accommodation there where you can ski out onto the slope from really handy

davmol · 21-02-2017 5:43pm

Ive been snowboarding for the past 15 years and I have to say id go with the package holiday.We recently went boarding and booked ourselves but byt he time we booked the car rental,flights and separate accommodation it worked out more expensive than what other guys paid for the package.That was probably cos they got a black Friday deal.
Its just a lot more convenient going with a package deal ie transfer etc,lessons(if needed) and advice.
On our return this time we almost missed ourflight as we misjudged the traffic on the route home plus almost got lost.

martinsvi · 22-02-2017 1:21pm

just for the variety of ideas here's my plan for the next week - 4 adults + a baby, none of us are party animals, but a glass of wine after a long day on pistes is a must...

Flights to Bergamo with Ryanair, even if booked now are cheap as chips, we're hiring a car (350-ish euro), from Bergamo you are 3-4 hours away from widest selection of resorts you can have in Europe, we will be doing this for the 3rd consecutive year, we never end up in the same resort, so always something new..

accommodation - self catering apartment, sleeps 6, we found one for a week for as little as 500 euro.. prices have gone up a little since last year though. Ski passes for 6 days are typically between 120 to 200 eur depending on the resort, gear rent another 80 eur per person. Food is reasonably priced in Italy, wine is affordable, cook your own meal or go out, whatever you fancy

roughly we're looking at 500 euro per person + food.. I think last year for the week, including a couple of restaurants our total food bill was around 400 eur, so roughly another 100 euro per person

sure it does involve a bit of work to put this all together, but we have great flexibility, we have a car, we can go wherever we want, we can do a day trip to go sight seeing if we dont feel like skiing or whatever..

Typically we start planning at around mid-November - sooner might be better for cheaper accommodation, but i would advise against planning anything for that far in the future - airlines don't know their rosters yet for 2018, and then there's a possibility your accommodation might get cancelled because they decided to renovate the place or something

for Italy and Alps in general, the best time to go is mid Jan - mid March. Most high altitude resorts are opened from December to way into April, but.. December can be really cold, dark, lots of cloud, poor visibility and little snow etc.. not a pleasant experience, especially if your sitting in a ski lift for 10 minutes in freezing winds and your suit is leaking water

from mid-end of March snow starts to get soft, there's ice patches here and there, some rocks/gravel start to reveal itself under the snow, this is generally the time when to go if you want to party or gen a nice tan.. also, this is when beginners get nasty traumas

First ever ski trip - 2018

Comments